API Automation testing should be front of mind if you are involved in software quality assurance. The proliferation of distributed systems that communicate through APIs necessitates thorough testing to keep everything running smoothly and performing as expected. API testing will become increasingly important as part of test automation strategies.
APIs are just as prone to bugs and other problems as any other software. New applications are now much more distributed than before, built across dozens or even hundreds of components, layers, and subsystems, often exchanging data through multiple APIs. This means that an issue on an API could have a magnifying effect, necessitating thorough API testing.
Different ways of working with APIs as a tester
API testing takes many forms, including exploratory testing, test automation, and API mocking. You can even use APIs to provide support for other types of testing.
A Guide to the most popular APIs
Get a sense of the pros, cons, and common use cases of the most popular APIs. Understanding APIs, in general, will assist you in testing more effectively.
Ole Lensmar of Smartbear discusses the difference between unit and API testing, the importance of choosing the best testing methods, and the benefits of reusing test assets.
UI level testing vs API level testing
Understand the difference between UI level testing and API level testing, a question that often features in interviews.
(Get a simple graphical explanation here.)
Methods and Tools for Data-driven API testing
Data-driven API testing enables feedback much sooner and more often during development. A structured model with identified risks and priorities allows you to test more important functions sooner and spend more time on crucial aspects of a product.
API Testing Checklist and Best Practices
Create a thorough API Strategy Checklist to lay out your goals and the steps to get there when doing complex API testing.
Webinar: API Testing in Python Training with Bas Dijkstra
A free 4-hour instruct-led workshop with Bas Dijkstra on getting started with API testing and automation in Python.
How to Perform API Testing with REST Assured
Bas Dijkstra shows you how to do API testing using one of the most popular open-source tools: REST Assured.
Joe Colantonio’s Roundup of 11 Best Open-Source Tools
There is no one perfect API testing tool for everyone. Joe Colantonio provides a great roundup of open-source API test tools to help you decide which fits your requirements.
The increase in the use of APIs leads to a rise in the demand for API testing. Where does that leave you as a software tester?
Challenges When Learning API Testing
Learn more about the most common challenges when learning how to do API testing and how to overcome these hurdles.
Learn API Testing with the Inspired Academy
The Inspired Academy offers training in API testing:
Masterclass API Testing and Automation
Quality Assurance Testing: Looking to the future
There’s still some debate on whether API testing should be the responsibility of the developer or the QA team, but that depends on the team and process involved. One thing’s for certain though, and that is that APIs will continue to grow, and with it, the need to do API testing. What will you and your team be doing to keep up?
